4.Raising Awareness about the Effects of Drug Use and Trafficking

“Men are immersed in drug issues. Without the skills and power of women, the future will be difficult (I mean for Lahu ethnics). Women have never talked about how they can also become village head. They might talk about it from behind but not at the front of people.”

Nar Parkha Village, Kyaing Tung Township, December 2019

Mar Lar Khi is the Coordinator of the Development Department from the Lahu Baptist Association, which mainly focuses on anti-trafficking initiatives. The organization coordinates with another Lahu organization based in Thailand to raise awareness about human trafficking. According to Mar Lar Khi, some women from his Lahu village are trafficked to China because young women cannot marry young men from the village. Consequently, some young women and their parents believe it is better to accept marriage proposals from Chinese men. He stated, “Villagers are very simple and they think their daughter is getting married to a nice family. They do not know that their daughters are being trafficked.”

He stated that because the majority of men use drugs, women have to do everything. Women are not able to speak out about drug issues in the community. “Men have become drug slaves. That’s why women cover the fact that they have been living a hard life due to their drug addict husbands. They can’t express their feelings and suffer inside.”

Men are the main decision makers in the community. However, Mar Lar Khi mentioned that Lahu women are also recognized. Women should be included in the decision-making process regarding buying and selling crops, as well as livestock. Joint decision making occurs in the economic sector, but women are still reluctant to participate in village affairs.

From Mar Lar Khi’s perspective, women do not participate in village affairs because of lack of confidence and the fact that they have never seen women involved in village administration. He compared Lahu women’s attitudes and involvement in leadership in Northern Shan to that in Eastern Shan: women in Northern Shan are more educated and are active in village affairs, whereas women in Eastern Shan are shy and are not interested.

Some men are sent to drug rehabilitation centers, but treatment has not proven to be effective. Drug abuse is addressed by religious leaders who hold prayer ceremonies. Regardless, village heads are responsible for addressing and resolving conflicts related to drug use. Mar Lar Khi emphasized that organizations which work intensively on drug issues should come to Eastern Shan state, as drugs are a widespread problem throughout Shan state.

“Men are immersed in drug issues. Without the skills and power of women, the future will be difficult (I mean for Lahu ethnics). Women have never talked about how they can also become village head. They might talk about it from behind but not at the front of people.”